The present invention relates to a method of enhancing blood flow, and more particularly, to a method of promoting a localized increase in the flow of blood through a blood vessel by inducement of a repeated, contracting movement of muscular tissue associated with the blood vessel, the inducement being achieved by subjecting the muscular tissue to an electric current. This repeated, contracting movement of muscular tissue creates a peristaltic motion of the blood vessels, thereby increasing the flow of blood. Alternatively, the repeated, contracting movement of muscular tissue can be induced against the flow of blood, such that the flow of blood to a given area is reduced.
The method presented herein is germane to a wide variety of medical applications, including various problems associated with poor blood circulation, improved drainage of retained water, relief of muscle and tissue pain, and therapy related to controlling the functioning of erectile tissue. The stimulation of blood flow is of particular importance for the treatment of sores on extremities and/or in organs suffering from poor blood circulation, e.g., increasing the flow of blood to the toes of a diabetic patient, or increasing the rate at which an edema is drained from a body cavity. The restriction of blood flow is also germane to a wide variety of medical applications, including various surgical procedures.
Current treatments for improving blood circulation and alleviating neural and muscle pain include manual, electrical, and mechanical methods. Manual treatment practiced in physiotherapy requires massage administered by qualified personnel. This art varies according to the experience and technique of each individual massage therapist, and therefore can not be prescribed in an adequately standardized form. The improvement in blood circulation is also of an extremely limited magnitude.
Electrical Muscle Stimulation (EMS) has seen widespread use in many applications. The Food and Drug Administration (Section 355.200 Electrical Muscle Stimulators, CPG 7124.26) maintains that EMS devices are recognized in the health care community as being effective for muscle reeducation, relief of muscle spasm, increasing range of motion, disuse atrophy therapy, increasing local blood circulation, and immediate post-surgical stimulation of calf muscles to prevent venous thrombosis. It must be emphasized, however, that the stimulation provided by EMS is very similar to the stimulation achieved by therapeutic massage. The increase in blood circulation is so modest that it is often undetectable using conventional flow-measuring equipment such as Doppler-based equipment. EMS is a random excitation of a local tissue area. Hence, EMS methods, like therapeutic massage, hot-water treatments, etc. are incapable of providing a major increase in the localized flow of blood. Moreover, because the excitation is random, EMS methods are fundamentally incapable of providing a decrease in the localized flow of blood.
Also known is a sequential pneumatic device for the reduction of an edema. The device consists of several overlapping compartments contained in a sleeve assembly. The compartments are inflated in a sequential fashion, from a distal end disposed adjacent to the edema, to a proximal end, such that the edema is pressed in the proximal direction. Each compartment is filled with air by a pump. The cycle starts with the filling of the distal compartment, and subsequently the remaining compartments are filled until all compartments are full. After a deflation period, the cycle is repeated.
In such electromechanical installations, electric motors, reciprocating mechanisms and the like create uncomfortable noise and vibration. These treatments are of further disadvantage in that they require various device elements to be contacted with the skin. These elements are often a source of discomfort to the patient, and require changing and cleaning after each use in order to ensure good sanitary conditions.
There is therefore a recognized need for, and it would be highly advantageous to have, a method for promoting, regulating, and/or decreasing the localized fluid circulation through blood vessels, according to demand. It would be of further advantage if such a method would be simple, user-friendly, non-invasive, repeatable, and adjustable to the individual needs of the patient.